Tag: Slow Cooking

It’s been a while since I posted a Dumping Dinner recipe. Here’s one for the comfort food category. My daughter, Genny, recently posted it on Facebook, and it reminded me of its yumminess. You can cook it up now, or put it in the freezer for later. Hope it makes you week go a little smoother.

Three Packet Pot Roast

Ingredients

1 3 pound chuck roast

1 cup water

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 packet Italian dressing mix

1 packet brown gravy mix.

Directions

Mix the three packets and 1 cup water. Pour over roast in the crock pot.

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Here’s your Dumping Dinner for this week. Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish of chicken in a mildly spiced curry sauce. It actually came to be in the 1950s because of leftovers. See story here. A few more than normal ingredients but only minimal chopping. It is delicious. Enjoy!

Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani

[No butter. Just yumminess.]

4-6 chicken breasts or thighs

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can coconut milk

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

2 teaspoons Garam Marsala*

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Dump in one-gallon freezer. Seal and freeze.

To cook: 6-8 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high. When finished, remove meat slice or shread. Serve with sauce.

Meal Maker—Serve with brown rice and your choice of veggies. Garlic naan, Indian flatbread is a must. Yum!

*Garam Marsala is a blend of ground spices common in India, Pakistan, and other South Asia Cuisines. You can find it in the spice section of most grocery store or online. The following is a quick recipe that will do the trick.

Garam Marsala

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and store in airtight container.

Enjoy!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you’ve been cooking up in your kitchen. I would love to hear.

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Life has been a whirlwind around my house these past few weeks with deadlines and travel.

I must apologize for neglecting you all in keeping up with my commitment to post some yummy dump dinners every week. With all the activity around here, I have depleted my own supply. So, it’s time to stock up, but before I do, here is one recipe you can dump in your crock pot right now. There is a little chopping involved, but at supper time, you will have a pot full of yumminess.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound ground beef

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 16-ounce jars of mild salsa

1 14.5- ounce can black beans, drained

1 14.5- ounce can kidney beans, drained

1 14.5- ounce can sweet corn, drained

1 7-ounce can green chilies drained

For serving

Fresh grated cheddar cheese

Green sliced onions

Sour cream

Tortilla chips

Directions

Place all ingredients except those for serving in a crock pot. Leave the ground beef in a chunk to cook.

Cook for 6-8 hours on low.

Before serving use potato masher to break up the ground beef into smaller pieces.

Serve with suggested toppings or cornbread would be delish, too.

Enjoy!

To freeze before cooking.

Dump all ingredients except those for serving.

Label and freeze.

When time to cook dump frozen meal in crock pot and cook 8-10 hours.

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Tell me what you have been cooking up in your kitchen? I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment.

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As promised. . .

Here is another Dump Dinner that will make those busy days just a little bit easier. I like that I can just get dinner going in the morning when my energy is high and my resolve to eat well is still intact. After my visit in Oklahoma, my daughter Genny was inspired to make some more dinners for her freezer after the ones I made ran out. She and her husband packaged up seventeen in just an hour and a half. Here is one they tried this week. She reported that the Beef and Broccoli was their favorite so far.

Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

2 pounds beef, sliced

1 can beef and mushroom soup

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon ginger, minced or grated

2 tablespoons corn starch

3 cups fresh or 10 ounce bag frozen broccoli cuts, steamed

Directions

To cook now:

Dump meat into crockpot.

Mix remaining ingredients together.

Pour over beef.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Before eating stir in broccoli.

To freeze for later:

Dump beef into one gallon freezer bag. Can be split into two bags.

Mix remaining ingredients except broccoli together and dump on top of meat.

Seal and freeze.

Follow To cook now directions on cooking day.

Freezing tip: Place freezer bag into 64-96 ounce plastic bowl to load. This will give you stability and free up your hands. Then, freeze, bowl and all. I know you have seen freezer meals all flat and stacked on the freezer shelves. It’s a thing of beauty, but the shape simply does not fit into a crock pot without defrosting. The bowl also prevents the meal from freezing around the wire on the shelves. Remove bowls when frozen to use for more dinners.

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One of my struggles is having something ready to eat at the end of the day. Crazy for a food blogger to admit. Even more so, when you realize my commute from my workplace to my kitchen is literally ten feet. It should be easy for me to just pop in the kitchen and whip something up, but it doesn’t always happen.

This topic came up on a recent trip to visit my daughters in Oklahoma. They told me they were dealing with this problem in their life, too. [Their commute is much longer than mine.] Work zapped all their energy, leaving them uninspired when it came time to cook. Fast food was taking its toll on their bank account and on their health. And eating on the fly was not allowing them to sit down, relax, and reconnect with their families.

I mentioned once-a-month cooking, but they needed something that took less prep and could go directly in the slow cooker from the freezer. With a little research, we found what are called dump dinners. They are just what the name implies. Dump all the ingredients into the crock pot, set the timer, and voila’ dinner is ready when you return home. The beauty of these meals is that with a little time and planning, you can have a few packaged up in the freezer, ready to go.

Before our visit was over, the girls had some in their freezer. All they had to do each morning was put them in the slow cooker, set the time and temperature, and go. They have since reported back saying how much they enjoyed them. One added benefit—they loved walking into the house after a long day to the smell of home-cooked food. They felt spoiled, and hoped more dinners would find their way into the freezer the next time I came to visit. Lol!

Now that I am back home, I have been testing some recipes for myself. This week we enjoyed Pesto Ranch Chicken [See recipe below.] It was delish and oh so easy. I shared on social media what I was doing and it seems there is a lot of interest in having meals with little to no prep and can go from freezer to crockpot. Our fast-paced culture has not diminished our desire to come together and eat something good at the end of the day. This method of cooking makes that easy, and adds an aroma of goodness to welcome you home.

The smells of slow cooking spread around the house and impart a unique warmth matched only by the flavour of the food.

Yotam Ottolenghi

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting some of the Dump Dinner recipes I’m trying. Here is the one I put together today. It reminds me of the flavor of Salisbury Steak.

Savory Steak and Gravy

Ingredients

1 ½ – 2 pounds cube steak

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup

1 can French onion soup

1 package au jus gravy mix

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Directions

Whisk together cream of chicken and mushroom soup, French onion soup, Au jus gravy mix, Worcestershire sauce, and 2/3 water in crock pot.

To freeze ahead: Dump meat, onions, mushrooms, soups, gravy mix, and Worcestershire into a one gallon freezer bag and freeze for up to three months. When it’s time to cook, dump frozen into crock pot along with 2/3 cup water. Cook on low for 6 hours. Thicken and serve.

Pesto Ranch Chicken

Ingredients

1 ½-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 small jar pesto sauce

1 package or 2 tablespoons dry Ranch dressing mix

Dump all ingredients into crock pot.

Cook on low 5 hours.

Enjoy!

To freeze: Put all ingredients into one gallon freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months.

Here are just a few tips I have found helpful before you get started.

Label your freezer bags with a permanent marker and allow it to dry before you get started. Along with the name of the recipe, date packaged and cooking time and heat, include any ingredients such as water or broth that must be added at time of cooking.

Place the freezer bag into a 64-96 oz. plastic bowl when ready to load. This will give it stability and will free up your hands.

Leave meat in whole pieces. It cooks better and can be cut up or shredded when done.

Freeze bag in bowl. This is a very important step. I know you’ve seen pictures of freezer meals all flat and stacked neatly on the freezer shelf. It’s a thing of beauty, but the shape simply doesn’t fit into the crock pot. Freezing the bag in bowl will give it the right shape to fit easily into the slow cooker without defrosting. Note: No need to leave in bowl once frozen. Remove and reuse bowl to shape more dinners.

Have fun! Please share your favorites with us. I’d love to hear about your life in the kitchen.

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Hospitality is key in making the world a better place. Let’s face it. Who doesn’t love a gathering that includes good food shared with family and friends. Memories are created and friendships increased when we come together. So, drop on in and stay awhile. Wait 'til you see what's cookin'. ~Patty Schell

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